Thirst

As with any two-year-old, Jonas has a thirst for learning new things—how to kick a ball, use a real fork, dress himself. He has loved drawing for a while now and recently picked up painting. But lately he has become enthralled with the latest and greatest thing—writing letters and numbers. Since he got his first taste a few nights ago, he has been asking us to help him do more. And how can we say no? He is filled with passion and excitement. So, we dutifully draw hash-mark letters and numbers that he then traces to make his own. With each crooked “a” and off-kilter “8,” his self-esteem grows a little bit more. Suddenly running fast, crashing trains and chasing the dog no longer matter. Instead he stands still, marker firmly gripped in hand and head low to the paper, concentrating with every ounce he has. While I could easily walk away to clean the kitchen, change the baby’s diaper or let the dog outside, I have to stop for a moment because there in front of me, packaged in that little toddler is a passion, thirst and desire to learn that is often forgotten. I just want to package that enthusiasm before years of worksheets, flash cards and homework deaden it. As I watch him take delight in each shakey stroke, I hope that thirst will never fully be quenched and that I won’t be too distracted by the dog or the diaper to feed it more.